Tesla is getting heat from California regulators, who want the company to change the way it advertises the self-driving systems on Tesla vehicles.
On Tuesday, officials with the California DMV issued a statement saying that a judge ruled that “Tesla’s use of the terms ‘autopilot’ and ‘Full Self-Driving Capability’ to describe its vehicles’ Advanced Driving Assistance Features (ADAS) is misleading and violates state law.” Officials also said Tesla has 90 days to comply, or risk losing its dealer licenses.
KNX News’ Jon Baird spoke with Tesla drivers at multiple charging stations about their experience with the self-driving technology. A driver at a station in Marina Del Rey said he tried the system on a trial basis, and it didn’t feel natural.
“It wasn't perfect. It was a little jerky,” he said. “You can tell it was trying to figure out what it wanted to do, if it was doing the right thing. I heard since then they have improved some aspects of it, but that time I spent with it, I didn't feel too confident in paying for that service.”
A driver named Zion said it’s important that drivers who use the system don’t let their guard down when using the self-driving system.
“If it turns weird or turns the wrong way, you immediately have to gain control again,” he said. “So it's really no point, and then they want you to pay monthly for it or a full price for it.”
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But Betsy, another driver, said she thought the system was pretty safe and that Tesla isn’t misleading anyone.
“Whoever's saying that it doesn't drive itself, those are misleading,” she said.
Tesla officials have insisted that they haven’t been misleading anyone, and that they have made it clear through disclosures on their website and through the cars themselves that the cars are not truly autonomous vehicles.
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